While I know that Deep Space Nine and the other Trek series have their own books, and I might check them out some day, I wanted to create a list of the certain elements from DS9 I really like and would like to see in otherwise completely different stories.
1. Space Station Life
The show Babylon 5 also executed this extremely well, but I would love to read a YA book where life is set on space station (not a spaceship, and I’ll explain the differences in a minute) and you really get the full feel for it. A ship is always on the move, and it largely has the same people on it. Since people live there, it does include many of the things a space station also would, but there are some things it does not include that the station does. Deep Space Nine included shops, a school, a bar (where you can eat, drink, play darts, and gamble), and holodecks, and it was all there not just for the regular crew of the station (and their children), but also for the guests coming and going in and out of the station. Having so many people come into the station also means a wide variety of aliens are likely to be there at any given time, which also makes it all the more interesting!
2. A Secret Agency, a la Section 31
I don’t want to say too much about the role of Section 31 on Deep Space Nine for anyone who has not seen the series, and I only mention it since anyone who has seen Star Trek: Into Darkness will be familiar with it already. The concept of a covert, morally ambiguous organization within a larger organization like Star Fleet is something that just fascinates me. I’d love to see something like this played out in a book.
3. An Unlikely/Untrustworthy Friendship
For me, one of the most interesting dynamics of Deep Space Nine was that of Dr. Bashir and Garak. The two have a very odd friendship, where they frequently dine together and Bashir will never stop insisting that he believes Garak is a spy. In the episode “The Wire,” when Bashir discovers just how much Garak has lied to him, he asks him what was actually the truth, and Garak tells him, “It’s all true, especially the lies.” This, in a nutshell, describes Garak and his relationship with Bashir, and really with everyone. He’s never straightforward and sometimes you think you can trust him, but sometimes you know you can’t. I would love to read about a friendship as complicated and dynamic as theirs.
4. Important Arcs for Secondary Characters
One of my favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine is “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” (BTW, if you’re ever going to watch the series, do NOT look up the synopsis for this episode! Major spoilers!) The whole episode centers on Nog, a secondary character whose name does not ever show up in the main credit sequence. And it is an amazing episode, because it’s about a defining moment in Nog’s life, and the arc he experiences in the episode alone does more for Nog than some characters get out of a whole series of a show. For this much emphasis on a secondary character for a book, it would probably need to be a series, but just the same, I’d love to see amazing growth from secondary characters in books in addition to the primary ones.
I could think of more elements from DS9 I’d love to see in a book, but talk about spoiler city! There’s just so much goodness to be had, so watch the show and discover it!
What elements from Deep Space Nine or your favorite science fiction show would you like to see in a book?
It’s November, which means it’s Sci-Fi Month, hosted by Rinn Reads! I was very excited when I found out about this event, as the sci-fi genre has been creeping into my life in the form of movies and TV for well over a decade now. It all started with…
Of course! I thought it was a lot of fun! And then one day I caught a marathon on TV of this show…
And fell in love with this particular kind of science fiction that examines humanity. Then while dating my husband he introduced me to…
We watched the original series while dating, and after TRYING to watch the first few episodes of The Next Generation (those first few episodes really are pretty bad), we put the rest of the series on hold until after we married. But now I’ve seen it all and love them all! But in the meantime, we were introduced to…
Such a unique and awesome (but sadly short-lived) series! Then after we finished Star Trek, we watched…
It’s crazy underrated. I mean seriously, how many TV shows do you know of where the creator/writer of the show had the entire series plotted and planned out beforehand? Amazing story and character arcs in five seasons (or four… the fifth season sadly didn’t live up to the rest of the show in terms of great stories). And currently we’re watching…
Most of these movies/shows will come up again in my posts this month! And now I’m starting to gain interest in sci-fi books as well, though I think the only true sci-fi book I’ve read so far is Ender’s Game. I liked it pretty well and I’m planning to check out more sci-fi books! But since I will not be reading anything new this month due to NaNoWriMo, I will have no new reviews of sci-fi books to share, and will be focusing exclusively on the movies and TV shows that made me fall in love with the genre over time. Here’s my personal schedule of posts that you can look out for:
November 7: Elements from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine I Want to See in Books
November 11: Ender’s Game movie review
November 18: Memorable Characters of Sci-Fi
November 22: Science Fiction World Building
November 27: My Top 3 Earth-Bound Sci-Fi Movies
If you’re participating in Sci-Fi Month as well, leave a comment and let me know! And if not, I hope you’ll enjoy some of these posts!
The new ABC show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is now underway with three episodes under its belt and having already delivered great action, fun characters, and of course witty dialogue as all good Joss Whedon projects ought to.
After this Agent Coulson says: “Sorry, that corner was really dark, and I couldn’t help myself. I think there’s a bulb out.”
My thoughts by category…
Story
I thought the pilot story and the second episode story were just OK. I liked the story of the third episode better, but it still felt rushed and underdeveloped. What I am hoping to see more of with this show is more over-arcing themes, which would be totally easy to do with the tie-ins to all the various Avengers movies and characters. They have this whole big universe to explore, some which some people are already familiar with, and it would be great to utilize more of that. I’m not saying that Tony Stark or Thor need to make a cameo in an episode (not that I would complain if they did), but using themes from their stories for the show. They do reference things a lot, but I want to see it applied to more big concepts, not just little details. The end of this last episode hinted at something that might come back, and I hope it does! It’s hard to tell what is a set-up this early on, but I hope to see recurring themes. Next week’s episode looks intriguing to me, so I’m hoping to like its story more.
Action
One thing this series has definitely done right so far is the action. I never even realized I would like such an action-oriented TV show, but I do in this case! The fight scenes are interesting to me and I love the mix of ingenuity and kick-buttery involved in these sequences.
Agent May can seriously kick tail.
Dialogue
The dialogue is definitely the best part. Agent Coulson delivers great one-liners, and the other characters have their fair share of good lines as well.
“Listen, you cannot walk away from this. With great power comes … a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with.” – Skye
“Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!” – Simmons
Grant Ward: There are two ways we can do this.
Skye: Oh, is one of them the easy way?
Grant Ward: No.
Skye: Oh.
And that is just a very small sampling. Not to mention how much more fun it is in context. Anyone who has seen Firefly, Serenity, or Dr. Horrible can attest that Whedon is a master of wit.
Characters
I’m not loving the characters yet… which makes me a little sad because this is generally another strong suit of Whedon’s (again, Firefly attests to this). I don’t dislike them either though, and I think over time I will like them more. Ward is interesting in a mysterious sort of way… he has this tough exterior but you know there’s more deep down. Same with May, though I find her less appealing… but that could be because there is more emphasis placed on Ward’s character, as he and Skye seem to be set up as the forefront of the show (other than Coulson). And he’s also attractive, I’ll admit that. Skye definitely already has a lot of complexity, but I have a hard time entirely liking someone when I still don’t really trust them. Well, unless they’re Garek from Deep Space Nine, but it took a while for me to warm up to him too.
It’s also real clear from the show that Skye and Ward are going to hook up at some point…
I really want to know more about Fitz and Simmons. Right now, they’re a couple of British kids spouting off all their science babble, and it’s fun. I like them and I like how they play off each other. But I want to know more about them, because I know there’s more to them than their passion for science. And I want to know more about their past. It sounds like they went through school together, which explains the neat (but totally platonic) dynamic they have.
If I go to a Halloween party this year, I may dress as Simmons. I like shopping from my closet for Halloween costumes. 🙂
Fun!
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is definitely fun so far, but I hope it won’t shy away from more serious episodes or moments as appropriate.
It’s hard to say much after three episodes, but I will say that I do think the show has already gotten better with each episode, so I hope the show will continue to grow and become more and more interesting and fun. If you haven’t checked it out yet but have some interest in the Marvel superhero world and what’s going on “behind the scenes,” I’d recommend it!
Have you seen Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? What are your thoughts on it?
I recently had the chance to attend the Star Trek convention held in Nashville. I went with my husband and two of our friends and we had so much fun! Even though I was more excited about the line-up last year, I ended up enjoying the people who came this year more!
The conventions are run by a group called Creation Entertainment, and they have Star Trek and other conventions all over the country throughout the year. This was our third experience with them, though our first year we only attended on Sunday, so we missed the Saturday morning rush. Last year, we experienced it. We got to there at a time we thought was early, only to find ourselves at the back of a really long line, and we ended up missing most of the first guest of the convention, John deLancie, who played Q in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. I was determined we not miss the first guest this year, Dominic Keating, so we showed up even earlier.
And just like last year, there was no clear signage as to what was going on. There were two lines to the ticket counter, one which was actually going to the ticket counter, and the other we soon realized was at a complete standstill and actually started several yards away from the ticket counter. We were trying to figure out why people were in a line like this, and what line we were in, but didn’t learn much.
You see, there were a couple of different packages available for the weekend, as well as general admission tickets. We don’t live too far away, so we went home on Saturday night instead of staying in the hotel, and one of our friends found a good deal for the general admission tickets through Deal Chicken, so needless to say, we just bought general admission. We heard mumblings that we might be in the gold package line, but no real confirmation. Ultimately, my husband stood in the non-moving line, just in case, and the two other guys and I stayed in the moving line. SO GLAD WE DID.
I let my guy friends go ahead of me to make sure we were clear to get our tickets, and they were got their tickets processed no problem. So I called my husband to come over STAT, right before I handed the lady both of our tickets for the weekend, and he showed up just in time to get our wristbands for the weekend. We were done before the doors to the big room where all the action happens were opened, so we all congratulated ourselves on working the system. We would find out later that several people did miss Dominic, just like we had missed John last year.
Meanwhile, we were first in line to wait to get inside. Others who had gotten their tickets situated were milling about the vendor room or elsewhere, but since we did not have reserved seats, we wanted to make sure we could get in the room ASAP. We had plenty of time so I walked across the hallway to go to the restroom when I suddenly stopped at the sight of Dominic Keating! I was so excited and scurried back over to my husband and friends. “I’m glad I wore the t-shirt, that was quite a hike,” he looked back said to us. TO US! The four of us were just standing there geeking out. Then he disappeared into a room and I flailed my arms as I went back to the restroom (not really, but I might as well have).
Later, after I had gotten back to the guys, we saw Chase Masterson, another one of the guests, walking by. She stopped to talked to someone who worked for Creation, looked over to us, and gave us a little wave! One of my friends and I, somewhat belatedly, returned weak oh-my-gosh-did-Chase-Masterson-just-wave-at-us? waves back.
Finally we got to go in the room and scouted out the best seats you can get when you don’t have reserved seats, and again, were happy with our success. Then after a while it finally began and out on the stage came Dominic Keating!
Dominic Keating played Malcom Reed on Enterprise, and he’s British, so he’s fun to listen to! He was also so funny, spending his time telling us the story of how he got the role of Malcom and answering questions from people in the audience. Something else I also noticed about him right away was how gracious he was to the fans. There are some Star Trek actors who are rarely come to conventions because they seem bitter about their Star Trek past, which is so disappointing. But Dominic was very grateful and recognized the importance of fan support, which we all appreciated.
From the episode Shuttlepod One, which might be my favorite season one Enterprise episode. It’s about Malcolm and Tripp getting stuck together, thinking they’re going to die, and annoying each other, ha ha.
Next was Suzie Plakson, who played a couple of small roles in Star Trek: K’Ehleyr (AKA Worf’s girlfriend) on The Next Generation and the female Q on Voyager. She was mostly there for a makeup artist to do a demonstration of Klingon makeup on her. But first, she told us she wanted to sing us a few songs.
This is something I have noticed is common among Star Trek actors… they want to sing for us. This year I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s because we’re in Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry was literally right next door. But regardless, she started singing, and we decided to leave after a couple of songs, because it was the best time for lunch (the scheduled lunch break wasn’t until about 2) and we weren’t interested in more singing or the make-up.
As we were leaving for lunch, we saw Dominic in the hallway again. One of my friends told him, “That was brilliant, thanks for that.” And he said something kind in return and went about his way. We geeked out again and my husband mentioned we should have asked him if he wanted to eat with us, but ah well, he was long gone by then. I imagine he had arrangements and a schedule he had to stick with anyways,
So after our lunch, we were thankfully able to still to sit in the same area as before and waited for Chase Masterson. Chase played Leeta on Deep Space Nine, and my husband and I had seen her last year. We were happy to see her again this year because she is super sweet. She also clearly loves her fans, and people in general really. She works with several charity organizations and her congenial disposition shines through.
Chase sang for us too, which was expected after last year.
Then next was Garrett Wang, who played (the forever Ensign) Harry Kim on Star Trek Voyager. I think we were all surprised by how cool and funny and awesome he was in real life! He, like all of us, wondered why Harry was always getting picked on and never promoted. Poor Harry! But seriously, he was funny, down-to-earth, and so enjoyable to listen to. We didn’t know it on Saturday, but we were going to get to see him again on Sunday…
Next was the scheduled lunch break, during which one of the guys stood in line for Walter Koeing’s autograph, while my husband and our other friend decided they needed some coffee. Since I don’t drink coffee, I got some frozen yogurt, just for fun. We walked around and chatted, hit up the vendor room, and then it was time for Terry Ferrell, who played Jadzia Dax on Deep Space Nine. I was super excited to see her as she was one of my favorites on the show.
She is pretty much like her character was on the show: energetic and spontaneous! We also got to see her again on Sunday, but more on that later…
We got to see Quark and Kira too; more about that next time!
There was a little bit of down time with trivia games and such, and then it was time for Walter Koeing, who played Checkov from The Original Series!
I have to admit that when I heard Walter Koeing was coming, I was more excited about it because of his role as Bester on Babylon 5 than that of Star Trek. I know it may sound blasphemous coming from a Trekkie, but seriously, BESTER ON BABYLON 5!!! He was awesome at being evil. And Walter actually flat out said that he was his favorite TV character he played. Anyhow, it was neat to see him.
And then that was it for the day, at least for us! Sadly, we had to miss the karaoke party hosted by Dominic and Garrett. That was probably some seriously fun times. But unfortunately, it was going to be too late of a night for us, so we went out for dinner, went home, and then hit the sack so that we could be ready for Day #2!
Have you ever been to a Star Trek convention? Who of these Star Trek actors would you be most excited to see?
Are you guys ready to become Trekkies?! I know you are! 😉
So I worked very hard on this flowchart in Excel to help guide you in starting you venture with Star Trek. Turns out converting it to any sort of viable picture if a complete pain in the butt. The following was the best I could do, and if you click on the picture, you can see it in a much more decent (i.e. readable) size:
However, the top part of the chart was cut off. The first question on top is supposed to be “How do you feel about science fiction?” and your two options are: “I enjoy Star Wars and other science fiction” and “I am uncertain about science fiction.” Now, I am going ahead and say that even though I think more of you would like Star Trek than you realize, I also fully recognize it is NOT for everyone. If you watch a few of these episodes and still find yourself saying “meh,” you probably won’t like the show overall. Some (but not all) of the episodes included on the chart are universally claimed by fans to be some of the best, so if you don’t like something we consider to be the best in the series, you’re probably not going to like the rest of it either. Star Trek does include a lot of “technobabble” (difficult and probably made up talk about science fiction-y things), space battles, and aliens, but it also includes a close look at humanity, philosophy, and characters. However, if you trust my judgment on anything and the idea of a space-based show doesn’t totally weird you out, I think you should at least try out a few episodes (all episodes available for streaming on Netflix or at startrek.com) and see what you think.
I was originally going to divide my chart based on people’s perceived ideas on Star Trek, but really I kept hearing the same thing: “Star Trek looks dated, hokey, and/or cheesy.”
I can understand these concerns, as they were probably mine as well when I first started watching. The original series was filmed in the 60s, and it has it share of cheese at times, but some of the episodes are also really good and full of meaning. Yes, it was obviously filmed in the 60s, but if you can get past that and enjoy the story, I think you’ll be glad you did. The series was actually culturally groundbreaking in many ways.
The Next Generation might be the most beloved of the series, and it (especially the early seasons) is so clearly from the 80s. Again, once you get past the look, you can really enjoy what the episodes have to offer.
If you’re familiar with Wil Wheaton/Wesley Crusher, here he is looking 80s-tastic in one episode. He was more commonly seen in uniform or in ugly 80s sweaters.
I think once you get to Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and definitely Enterprise, you see a lot less of the hokey-looking stuff. And of course, I think the new J.J. movies look slick and can be a nice introduction to Trek if you’re thinking about whether or not you want to delve into the deeper waters of the TV shows.
Don’t let Chris Pine down now!
If I was told you could only watch two episodes of Star Trek to give you the scope of what it stands for, I would go with the fun and quirky Star Trek original series episode “The Trouble With Tribbles” and the Deep Space Nine episode “In the Pale Moonlight.” The latter is my absolute favorite of all Trek and I almost would hate to give it away out of the gate, but at the same time I would hate for anyone to judge the series without having seen it. The funny thing about me liking this episode so much is that the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, was probably rolling in his grave when it aired.
You see, Gene Roddenberry had a vision of the future that was a utopia, at least for Earth and its allies within the Federation. They were clearly the good guys, they did all the right things, period. But we know things aren’t that clear cut in real life. The reason why I love Deep Space Nine so much is because it shows the dirty underbelly of what happens when good people find themselves in desperate circumstances. The series contains amazing character story arcs, and this sixth season episode is a big turning point for Captain Benjamin Sisko.
“The Trouble With Tribbles” is the exact opposite of “In The Pale Moonlight.” It’s light and fun but also a favorite among Star Trek fans. Deep Space Nine paid a wonderful homage to the episode with their episode “Trials and Tribble-ations,” but you should see the original first. What can you not love about an endless number of furry, cooing space animals?
So if you’re interested in trying Trek out, open the chart and follow the statements that most apply to you. Watch the episodes. When you’re finished with them, if you enjoyed them, try out another statement and those episodes, and try that for as long as you want. Then if you’re ready for more, you can try the new movies, or start from the beginning of the series that seems the most interesting to you, and go from there.
If you want, you can go with the order the shows were created, which would obviously mean begin with The Original Series (TOS). As mentioned before, you have to remember that this show was created in the 1960s and can be hokey at times, but there are plenty of episodes that show depth. It’s also only three seasons, a light commitment compared to all of the other series (not including The Animated Series… but we’re not talking about it today). It also has a few movies.
You could also start with the chronological beginning, which would be Enterprise (ENT). The first season is not the best and the finale of the show is the worst episode of Star Trek ever, but it does pick up after a time and has a really interesting and intense story arc that pretty much takes up the third season of the show. It has four seasons overall.
If you are looking for quintessential Star Trek, that can be light-hearted or deep, but was better produced than the original series, check out Voyager (VOY). Its pilot might be the best in all of Star Trek. It has seven seasons and is the favorite of Kelley’s from Another Novel Read.
If you like philosophy and psychology, you might enjoy starting with The Next Generation (TNG), but you will have to patient and forgive the first season or two. After that though, it’s quite enjoyable! It has seven seasons and a few movies.
And then if you love continuing story and character arcs and stories that really make you think, Deep Space Nine (DS9) might be a good place for you to start. It is the best developed series of Trek, in my opinion, and really starts kicking late in the second season. Its finale is probably my favorite of all the series. It’s also known for being the “darkest” of the Treks, but I think it also has some of the most fun episodes as well. It also has seven seasons.
And Tweet me anytime (@acshawya) if you have a question about Trek! I will recommend episodes, movies, podcasts, or answer general questions you may have (unless they deal with spoilers… then I’ll make you find out on your own!).
Being a Star Trek fan is a lot of fun. It’s a culture of its own. We love the best episodes and love to hate the worst. It will undoubtedly take some time to understand the difference between a Vulcan and a Romulan or to get used to certain things, but in the end, I think it’s worth it and quite a fun ride.
Are you going to give Trek a try? Let me know if I’ve piqued your interest or if you have more questions!
The show Babylon 5 also executed this extremely well, but I would love to read a YA book where life is set on space station (not a spaceship, and I’ll explain the differences in a minute) and you really get the full feel for it. A ship is always on the move, and it largely has the same people on it. Since people live there, it does include many of the things a space station also would, but there are some things it does not include that the station does. Deep Space Nine included shops, a school, a bar (where you can eat, drink, play darts, and gamble), and holodecks, and it was all there not just for the regular crew of the station (and their children), but also for the guests coming and going in and out of the station. Having so many people come into the station also means a wide variety of aliens are likely to be there at any given time, which also makes it all the more interesting!
I don’t want to say too much about the role of Section 31 on Deep Space Nine for anyone who has not seen the series, and I only mention it since anyone who has seen Star Trek: Into Darkness will be familiar with it already. The concept of a covert, morally ambiguous organization within a larger organization like Star Fleet is something that just fascinates me. I’d love to see something like this played out in a book.
For me, one of the most interesting dynamics of Deep Space Nine was that of Dr. Bashir and Garak. The two have a very odd friendship, where they frequently dine together and Bashir will never stop insisting that he believes Garak is a spy. In the episode “The Wire,” when Bashir discovers just how much Garak has lied to him, he asks him what was actually the truth, and Garak tells him, “It’s all true, especially the lies.” This, in a nutshell, describes Garak and his relationship with Bashir, and really with everyone. He’s never straightforward and sometimes you think you can trust him, but sometimes you know you can’t. I would love to read about a friendship as complicated and dynamic as theirs.
One of my favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine is “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” (BTW, if you’re ever going to watch the series, do NOT look up the synopsis for this episode! Major spoilers!) The whole episode centers on Nog, a secondary character whose name does not ever show up in the main credit sequence. And it is an amazing episode, because it’s about a defining moment in Nog’s life, and the arc he experiences in the episode alone does more for Nog than some characters get out of a whole series of a show. For this much emphasis on a secondary character for a book, it would probably need to be a series, but just the same, I’d love to see amazing growth from secondary characters in books in addition to the primary ones.
If you are looking for quintessential Star Trek, that can be light-hearted or deep, but was better produced than the original series, check out Voyager (VOY). Its pilot might be the best in all of Star Trek. It has seven seasons and is the favorite of Kelley’s from Another Novel Read.
If you like philosophy and psychology, you might enjoy starting with The Next Generation (TNG), but you will have to patient and forgive the first season or two. After that though, it’s quite enjoyable! It has seven seasons and a few movies.
